GainingEdge appoints global head of associations

Meetings industry advisors GainingEdge has named Chloé Menhinick head of global association consulting operations. She will be delivering association support in 10 key areas including activation of new associations, talent acquisition, strategy development, and legacy planning.

Menhinick has had 15 years of experience in the associations industry and most recently served as head of membership and network engagement for the International Water Association, which has a network in over 130 countries.

She said: “We want to help associations to solve their most complex issues, to be sustainable and to succeed in their missions to bring about positive change now and in the future.”

She added that associations are operating in a complex and disruptive environment where they are finding it increasingly hard to manage change. “Every association is either focussing sharply on issues of disruption right now, or they need to be,” she said.

“Disruptive forces are affecting them in two ways – either directly in relation to the services they are providing or indirectly in how their member bases are being disrupted, which threatens an association’s very life-blood.  We want to help them address these issues for themselves and for their members.”

While much of what GainingEdge has done in the past was more broadly association community focused, CEO Gary Grimmer said the company has plans to do more for individual associations.  “We’ve always been helping associations find meetings destinations, but we want to do more, we want to help them to address their strategic and operational challenges and to be more successful,” he said.

GainingEdge’s focus has traditionally been in destination and bureau consulting, convention centre development consulting and in-market convention sales representation.